>> But the million dollar question is, was the shuttle taking off in ambient 
>> conditions outside of the designed temperature range, or had the 
>> designers failed to check that every component would remain within its 
>> operating range during take off?
>
> IIRC, it was bloody cold that day, and several engineers advised against 
> the launch due to the temperatures. But the actual spec sheet? IDK.

Well I'd jolly well hope that every single part of the shuttle would be 
designed to work in the temperature range specified on the spec sheet!

Doesn't sound very NASA-like to have some Engineer going "oh it's a bit 
chilly today old chaps, that o-ring might not be so good".  Where's the 
temperature spec of the O-ring?  Where's the simulation/test results of 
expected temperatures at each point on the shuttle?  Why wasn't this brought 
up during the design stage?

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